The friend
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Before any of them realised it, Clarke and Lexa had been living in the same place for over half a year. Contrary to what one would think, they hadn't spoken much. Yes, they spoke everyday and asked each other how everything had gone, but none of them dared to trust each other, to really talk. Words went unspoken whenever someone else mentioned their families, and they wouldn't talk about their pasts. It simply was too painful, particularly for Lexa.
Time passed by and they began to care for each other. Especially since that one day. Nothing big happened, none of them did a great gesture or a memorable thing for the other. It just seemed to break the walls they both had in order to shield themselves from the world.
It was a cold winter day. Snow had been falling for over two weeks, ruining the crops, and the village was already running out of supplies. Almost no food arrived from the capital, Polis, or nearby villages, and when it did it was either rotten or unaffordably expensive.
By chance, Clarke had found a small hut in the woods, which was being used for food storage by someone who apparently wasn't too sharp, since anyone with that much food should've kept it in a safer place. For a couple of days she'd been eating the best meals she'd ever had: fruit, meat, sometimes even fish, which was quite a luxury to her, when she decided she'd worked hard enough the rest of the day and she deserved it.
On the other hand, Lexa had been surviving by taking fruit off trees, meaning she hadn't eaten more than three oranges and a few grapes in over a week. In fact, it had been over two days since she last ate, and she felt simply too exhausted to even walk out of bed and try and find anything to soothe her aching stomach.
Lying in that position and pale as ever is how Clarke found her.
"Lexa"
Lexa opened an eye
"What's wrong?"
Lexa closed her eyes again. Clarke knew something was happening.
"Lexa answer me"
Clarke felt cold sweat running down her back as she tried to speak to her. She put her arm around Lexa and put her in a sitting position as she brought some water to the other girl's lips. Slowly, Lexa recovered consciousness and started drinking.
"Lexa"
"Mmmhpf?"
"You need food." She knew the feeling. The excruciating pain in her belly, the cramps all over her body. The blurred vision and most of all, the thought that she wasn't going to make it. That thought back in her head that told her that was it, that she was going to die right there and right then.
She opened her backpack and she took out what she'd thought was going to be her dinner. And for the first time in her life, Clarke shared.
After that day, their relationship changed. They became more than just two street kids who happened to sleep in nearby beds, and they started to develop something neither of them had had until then: a real friendship.
Even though Clarke had known many people in her life, she'd never considered any of them her friends. Not even Neko, who was more of a sort of elder brother to her. And then Lexa and her began to speak.
Slowly, they started sharing their thoughts, their fears and wishes. Clarke taught Lexa which people threw more food out and how to sew and heal a wound, and in return Lexa showed her how to climb trees and fight.
They established a routine in which they didn't eat everything they found, but instead they brought something at night to share with the other in case they hadn't found anything, if they were lucky and got some clothes they'd keep them stored until any of them needed them, and if they were ever lucky enough to find an animal who'd just been caught in a trap, they'd eat it together.
One day, a few months after they first shared food, Clarke asked Lexa about her family. Lexa sighed as her eyes looked a darker shade of green. But still, she spoke.
"I am an only child. My parents were both warriors." her eyes pooled with unshed tears "My dad was one of the leaders of the Trikru, and my mum trained the kids in the village. She also made the best pies..." She looked at Clarke sadly "in spring we used to go to TonDC to see my her family and she'd make pie for all of us, and in summer I asked her to make it for my birthday, even though I knew she'd say no but then my dad would convince her and try to surprise me with it... I" she hesitated "I'm sorry, I sound so silly"
Clarke put a hand on her shoulder "You don't, they sound wonderful"
Lexa offered her the tiniest smile. Clarke realised she'd never seen Lexa smiling before. She smiled back "Do you want to tell me more?"
Lexa nodded "I think I could go on and in about them" and so she did. For over half an hour she told Clarke everything about her parents: how much they'd done for their village, how fierce and brave they were, how they knew the Commander herself, but mostly she spoke about how they loved each other and their kid. Clarke listened to every word as Lexa got lost in her memories.